Doctor Who: Parallax - The Lion's Roar
by Montana
Summary: EPISODE VII: The Doctor, Rose, and Jack find themselves in Alexandria, Egypt in 40 BCE. They are brought to the court of Cleopatra where Jack revels in the blatant advances of the 'most beautiful woman in the world' until they discover the palace is starting to disappear, block by block. Nine/Rose, AU/AR
1. Chapter 1

**Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own Doctor Who.

**Author's Note:** Here's the seventh episode of the Parallax series!

For those just dropping in, you might want to go back to episodes I – VI and catch yourself up. Otherwise, this won't make a ton of sense, being an AU and all. The previous episodes can be found on my profile. Their titles are, in order:

**_Doctor Who: Parallax – I Won't Dance_**

**_Doctor Who: Parallax – Counting Stars_**

**_Doctor Who: Parallax – Shake It Out_**

**_Doctor Who: Parallax – King And Lionheart_**

**_Doctor Who: Parallax – Ghosts That We Knew_**

**_Doctor Who: Parallax – Saints And Sinners_**

* * *

"Y'know, I spent a decade avoiding all the society events and cocktail parties and dinners that I could," Rose mused as she lay back, exhausted, against the front steps of Southwark Cathedral, "Then The Doctor shows up, and I've worn more dresses in the last six months than I did in the last six years." This time, at least, she'd managed to get away with a cocktail dress as opposed to a floor-length gown. Not that it mattered much while she was running for her life in yet another pair of heels or hanging precariously from the cathedral bell tower. Next to her, Jack Harkness was sprawled out in an equal state of exhaustion, the left leg of his tuxedo trousers torn at the knee and the severed fabric pooled around his ankle.

"Yeah, but you look incredible," The former Time Agent leaned in close with his most winning smile and nudged her with his shoulder. Rose couldn't help laughing in response as she brushed wood splinters off the olive green chiffon.

"You're shameless, you are," she chided.

"Always," he acknowledged, "But tell me, how was it?"

"How was what?"

"You. The Doctor. Crammed together in that little capsule." Mickey'd been right. Jack was the captain of the innuendo squad, and Rose felt a blush creep into her cheeks as she recalled the all-too recent incident.

"Jealous?" she asked, deflecting. Bless her, she tried, but Rose was nothing if not honest. Every thought in her head showed on her face. Mercifully, however, Jack allowed her her pride.

"Absolutely," he grinned, "Just can't decide who I'm more jealous of." It had been little over a week since Jack had left the H.M.S. Aberdeen aboard the TARDIS, and in so little a time he'd fallen into a natural rapport with the last Time Lord in existence and the girl from another universe. He'd been more than a little shocked learning of Rose's origins, though not in the manner most would suspect. By his time, parallel universes were an accepted scientific theory, a virtually undisputed fact. Humanity simply hadn't figured out how to cross the divide, yet. No, Jack was shocked by the sheer statistical unlikelihood of running into someone from a parallel world who, more importantly, had known a parallel version of himself.

"Spoilt for choice, poor thing," Rose mocked.

"Who is?" came a familiar baritone from behind them. Rose and Jack turned simultaneously to see The Doctor came strolling out of the cathedral with his easy gate and notably undamaged clothes. Rose shook her head at him before climbing reluctantly to her feet. As usual, the companions wound up winded and bedraggled while The Doctor was never the worse for wear.

"Was the pipe organ really necessary?" Rose asked, bypassing his inquiry, "I already had one cochlea replaced, you know. 'S not like they give you a bulk discount."

"The genetic manipulator worked on a sonic frequency," The Doctor explained as he trotted down the stairs, past Jack, and stopped beside her, "I needed the organ and the church bell to set up a resonance, reverse the programmin'. Had to crank it up to eleven." He said the last sentence with his mad, toothy grin, glancing expectantly between Rose and Jack.

"Figures," Rose chuckled, "Monty Python doesn't exist but Christopher Guest does."

"What's a 'Monty Python?'" Jack asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, but still declining to stand.

"Nothin,' doesn't matter," Rose dismissed.

"All right. Who's Christopher Guest?"

"Nobody," Rose assured.

"Oi!" The Doctor protested.

"Can we please get back to the point?" Rose asked, raising her hands to halt any further discussion on the merits of Spinal Tap, "What 'bout Lazarus?"

"Dead," The Doctor confirmed, solemnly, "He's... himself again. We can go." At his pronouncement, he and Rose both turned to look expectantly at Jack. The reformed conman looked up at them, wearily.

"Oh, come on," he replied when they wouldn't stop staring, "I just spent the night running from an evolutionary throwback, not to mention pulling Rose up off the ledge of a bell tower."

"Thank you, again," Rose interjected.

"Any time," Jack winked and The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Just, let me catch my breath a minute, all right?" For a few beats, neither Rose nor The Doctor had anything to say.

"Sooo," Rose hedged, puckering her lips in contemplation and gazing upward innocently, "Ready yet?" Jack sighed heavily and heaved himself to his feet.

"Fine, let's go," he relented, taking a few steps back toward Lazarus Laboratories before turning around, "You know, I think I deserve a little consideration. Maybe, I don't know, a handshake or, better yet, a kiss." Ostensibly, he was looking at Rose, but he was watching The Doctor closely in his periphery. In just over a week the unresolved tension between the two had become glaringly obvious, and he'd consoled himself over the fact Rose was off limits by taking every opportunity to ruffle The Doctor's feathers. He'd also discovered he wasn't the only one. As it turned out, the TARDIS was sentient, and he suspected the ship had a hand in the fact that Rose's cocktail dress and velvet T-strap shoes closely matched The Doctor's green jumper. The Time Lord had refused to wear a tuxedo, leaving Jack to accompany Rose to the party itself, but the TARDIS had seen fit to cast her own vote in the matter.

"You want a kiss?" Rose asked, her tongue touching her canine as she smiled. She thought she knew what he was on about.

"Yeah," Jack shrugged, "I think I've earned it." He was a comical sight with his bow tie hanging loose around his neck, the cuff of his jacket mildly singed, and his left leg bare from the knee down. Rose couldn't help but feel sorry for him, just a bit.

"All right, then," she allowed, but before she could move an inch, The Doctor let out a labored huff, stepped forward, took Jack's head in both hands, and planted a quick, chaste kiss on either cheek before letting go. Rose couldn't decide if she or Jack was more stunned.

"There," The Doctor said with a smug grin, "Satisfied?" Without awaiting an answer, the Time Lord offered Rose his arm, and she took it automatically, her mouth still gaping open in disbelief as they walked away. Jack stood and watched the pair for several seconds as he regained his composure.

"Yes, actually," he said under his breath, smiling at the sight of the two of them together. Shaking his head, he began to follow and shouted after The Doctor, "Tease!"

* * *

"So, according to Pete, Lazarus Laboratories was funded by a company in the Netherlands, 'Herboren International.'" Rose informed The Doctor as she sat at the dining table, sipping her morning cuppa over her now-empty plate. The Doctor sat in the chair opposite hers, sans jacket, with one ankle crossed over the opposite knee as he reclined back and slowly drummed his fingers against the wood. This table was bigger than before, and the galley seemed to have stretched slightly to accommodate it. Rose took it as a sign that the TARDIS had accepted Jack, and it made her love the ship even more.

"Herboren," The Doctor mused, his brow crinkling and his fingers falling still, "That's Dutch. Means 'reborn.'"

"Makes sense," Rose shrugged, "Investing in age reversing technology."

"Yeah," The Doctor said, somewhat distracted, "Bit on the nose, though."

"Well, anyway, Pete's lookin' into it. Says he'll call if anythin' looks suspicious." The Doctor merely nodded, staring at the far wall in thought. Rose took her time with the rest of her Darjeeling, casting the occasional glance at the obviously preoccupied Time Lord. There was something important she needed to discuss with him after last night, and she hadn't a clue how to broach the subject. Finally, she'd drained her cup down to the dregs and she set it down with careful hands, taking a moment to pick at her neatly trimmed fingernails before fixing The Doctor with a steady look. It was now or never.

"Doctor?" she asked, and the tone of her voice caught his attention. Rarely did she sound so serious, and as he met her unflinching gaze, he straightened his chair and leaned forward to face her.

"What is it, Rose?" The Doctor asked, puzzled by her gravity but not overly concerned. As a general rule, if it were an emergency, she'd be shouting, and she certainly wouldn't have waited until after breakfast.

"Last night, I got to thinkin'," she began, her eyes falling to her clasped hands now that she had his attention, "Lazarus, he was so concerned about dyin'."

"Most sentient beings are," The Doctor pointed out, "Sometimes I think I'm missin' out on somethin'." The latter was clearly intended to lighten the mood, but it fell flat. Rose hadn't realized just how much the events of that night had troubled her until she'd gone to bed and she'd lain on that fabulously comfortable cot staring at the star-speckled ceiling for hours as the sounds and scents of a spring night outside Seoul drifted on the nonexistent breeze.

"We don't live forever, Doctor," Rose said softly, "Humans, I mean." The Doctor's chest suddenly felt constricted and his mouth went dry. He knew, acutely, just how quickly she'd be gone. He struggled every day to suppress his ever-present awareness of that numbing fact. He leaned on it every time he caught himself dwelling too long on the scent of her skin or the sensation of her warm hand in his. One day, far too soon for his liking, she would be gone. He didn't need reminding, so why was she bringing this up?

"S'pose it's for the best," she continued when he didn't respond, daring a glance at him but immediately lowering her eyes once more in response to the look on his face, "Planet would get pretty crowded." It was a lame attempt at humor, and she knew it.

"Rose..." The Doctor began, his voice harsh with strain.

"Jus'... let me finish, yeah?" This time, she did meet his gaze, and as he saw the resolve, the determination there, he closed his mouth and swallowed hard.

"I will be here, with you, forever," she said, and her tone brooked no objections, "I'm not leavin', unless you make me, and I won't let anythin' keep me from you. Not for long. Only thing is, my forever in't the same as yours, Doctor. I can't..." She almost broke, then, but what she had to say was so important, she cleared the harsh tickle from her throat and pressed on, "I can't be around your whole life. I want you to promise, Doctor. I want you to promise me that after I'm gone, after Jack's gone... Promise me you'll find someone to travel with. No matter what, find another companion; find four or five, I don't care. Just... Just don't be alone. You shouldn't be alone."

"Rose..." his tone was softer, now, consoling. His mind, already resistant to the inevitability of her loss, refused to imagine anyone else sitting on that mangy jump seat, heckling him as he replaced yet another blown fuse or warped rotor. He'd gone years without a companion, and he'd only asked her along because she fascinated him and because he thought she might actually be able to survive his hell-bent search for redemption. Now, though, she was so much more. He'd been alone; alone he could do. He could never replace her, and the thought of attempting it offended him on a primal level.

"No," she insisted, and all thoughts of reassuring her withered under that dark gaze, "Promise me, right now, or it ends here. I will go back to London, to Torchwood and bad telly and beans on toast. I will pilot this ship myself if I have to, but I will leave unless you swear that you'll find someone else when I'm gone." She knew, deep in her bones, that it was a risky gambit to threaten a Time Lord, never mind this particular Time Lord, and the look in his eyes confirmed as much. She almost regretted her words, but she couldn't. It was far, far too important to back down, now, and she held his gaze with a steadfastness she didn't know she possessed. All that time her heart pounded, terrified, in her chest.

The Doctor was speechless. Fear and fury and indignation warred for dominance. Had she not just finished saying she would never leave him? How could she then threaten to do just that? How could she attempt to prize an empty promise from him to replace her? Just as the hurt and confusion became nearly overwhelming, he saw, with stark clarity, the depth of fear in those clear hazel eyes; and just as she'd done countless times before, she became his anchor, his salvation from the Oncoming Storm. 'I'm not leavin', _unless you make me_,' she'd said, 'to London, to Torchwood and bad telly and beans on toast,' and she'd not once called it 'home.' She was scared and desperate and what she asked meant more to her than anything. She wasn't threatening him, not really. She was risking exile, gambling her own happiness, in an effort to save him from himself.

"Doctor?" she asked, and the tremor in her voice broke him. In the end, it was his choice: to lose her now and avoid the difficult, distasteful task of moving on in a healthy manner; or to spend all the years she had left, together, with the promise to swallow his damned pride and find someone to travel with after she was gone. He didn't have to replace her; that wasn't what she was asking. She didn't even know it was an issue. All he had to do was live a full life after she was gone, not the half-life he'd have resigned himself to if left to his own devices. Slowly, he reached out and took her clasped hands in both of his.

"I promise," he said quietly, but with level conviction, and he could almost feel the relief flood through her, "I'll find someone, Rose. I'll find someone fantastic."

"Good morning!" Jack's irritatingly chipper voice filled the kitchen as he breezed through the swinging door, and Rose and The Doctor broke apart as though scalded. When he spotted them, both looking thoroughly wounded and guilty, Jack stopped. "All right, who died?" It had been a rhetorical question, intended to lighten the mood, but as the pair glanced at one another and The Doctor rose to his feet and stalked out of the kitchen without a word, Jack's face fell.

"Wait, did someone actually die?" he asked after the Time Lord was gone. Rose shook her head and stood up, giving him a thin, watery smile.

"There's extra bacon in the pan," she said, "We'll be in the console room when you're finished."


	2. Chapter 2

**Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own Doctor Who.

**Author's Note:** I am SO sorry. I mean, I really, really am. Shit be crazy around here. Hubby dearest and I are trying to buy a house and we just went through the whole process of hunting and making an offer and having the offer accepted only to go through the inspection and find out that – just everything needs to be replaced. So, we had to come back with a lower offer, which got rejected, and now we're hunting again. That said, **I can no longer make any guarantees about a posting schedule.** I can, however, promise to not let the series die. I will finish it, unless I get hit by a bus or something, it just might take longer than I hoped. Thank you all so much for your patience.

**Vaylyn:** I traditionally don't like to give spoilers, but in light of my recent dereliction, I will say that the whole Rose being mortal issue will eventually be resolved. It won't be clean and neat and happy. It will be difficult and painful and Jackie will be pissed. Someone might get slapped. Still, I have to have Rose and The Doctor address these fears because they don't know anything about a "plan." As far as they know, Rose will forever be mortal. It would be a bad case of imposing my omniscience on the characters if I failed to have them react appropriately to their world and circumstances as they understand them so far. **Hibari heza:** So sorry this update took so long, but I really hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much for sticking around through the rough and erratic posting schedule! **Purple/Mauve Guest: **I suspected it was you. :D I'm cleverer than I may seem. And dear Rose, still so caring and sweet, but so much wiser than she was. She knows when she needs to save him from himself. **pink lili flower:** For reasons I can't explain, putting the "."s in your name makes your name disappear when I submit the chapter. Anyway! Thanks so much for all the support, and I hope the continuation is worth the ungodly wait! **Dreamcatcher49:** He's occasionally slow on the uptake, but he does eventually catch on. Thank you for sticking with me! **Royslady51:** I honestly just don't see Rose submitting without complaint to millions of nitpicky diagnostic scans. He certainly knows something is off, and he's warned her not to look into the heart of the TARDIS ever again. Beyond that, he has enough respect for her not to turn her into a guinea pig or go all "overprotective" on her. Plus, all things considered, I don't think he really wants to take on too much of a "fatherly" type role. I mean, that's worse than "friendzoning." :D **Blue Stone Shining Wolf:** Hahaha, Jack might be a Nine/Rose shipper at this point simply because he wants them to hurry up and shag so he doesn't have to live with their constant dancing around one another. But you're right, he will be very good for both of them. On the other topic, I'm not sure Nine would go Time Lord Victorious. I think if he lost Rose, he'd be more the Suicidal Hero Binge type. Still not good, though. Thank you so much for sticking it out with me and all your awesome support (which I've not been super good about returning of late...)**TK:** You know, I normally save the grave conversations for the end, but I thought I'd experiment with including one in the beginning. And I'm so glad you enjoyed the tomfoolery in the beginning. As I said to Blue Wolf, "Thank you so much for sticking it out with me and all your awesome support (which I've not been super good about returning of late...)" I've been reading both your fics and just been too stressed out and overwhelmed to sit down and write proper reviews. I will get on it, though. **TheBigCat:** And more profuse apologies. I'm so happy you enjoy the stories, and I'm so sorry this took so long. I will do my even best not to let life sneak up on me and give me a swirly from here on out. **Ran0neechan:** Thank you so much, and I'm sorry for the excessive delay! **Kay:** "Couldn't have put it better myself." :D Thank you for dropping in a review! **Aunt Sue Nihg Carthaigh:** No, this is not the end. Not that first chapter, and not this episode. I promise you I wouldn't start a whole new episode just to end it in one chapter. There are nine more episodes scheduled after this one (though you don't have to wait that long for the Nine/Rose fluff, just have to throw that in before anyone starts a goddamn riot, there's just a lot of stuff that needs to be wrapped up, like Rose's whole "being mortal" thing). They even have titles. And rough outlines. I have a plan, is what I'm saying. And those just might be the most dangerous words I've ever spoken. Thanks so much for the review, and for sticking with it even if this long delay had you thinking the worst. :D **Rattan: **First off, see the note to Vaylyn. And Aunt Sue. There's a plan, I promise. There always has been. That said, as I told Vaylyn, it won't be all "magic potion-y." It will be unplanned, and a trial for them all. Also, I include a lot of Ten/Donna or Ten/Martha stories as filler partly because I like Ten better than Eleven and partly because a LOT of Eleven's episodes had very strong tie-ins to overarching plots (The Silence, The Pandorica, etc.) that can't easily be glossed over. Not all episodes, obviously, there are some I can use without screwing with them too much, and I will eventually get to them. In fact, the Van Gogh episode (Vincent and the Doctor) is one of my very favorites of any Doctor. But, for now, I'm working from a bank of episodes without too many entanglements.

* * *

"So, where we off to, then?" Rose asked as she ambled into the control room and up to the console. The Doctor, whose face was contorted into a pained scowl as he shook his right hand, glanced at her briefly before picking up the spanner he'd dropped onto the console. Rose regarded the scene briefly, laying her hands on the cool porcelain ring that framed the instrument cluster. She thought she felt a vague buzz of irritation before the ship resumed the sort of contented hum Rose was familiar with. It was entirely possible Rose only imagined the sensation, but some small part of her fancied the notion that she was growing gradually more aware of the ship's 'moods' as she progressed in her flight training.

"I dunno," he chimed cheerfully, flexing his hand in an attempt to work the sharp, stinging sensation from his fingertips. The TARDIS never much cared for him making any manner of repairs or adjustments, no matter how minor, when he was in a foul mood. That said, the zap she gave him when he'd attempted to tighten the temporal shift modulator seemed a bit stronger than was strictly necessary. Still, he pasted on a smile for Rose's benefit, "Up to our resident pilot in training, I s'pose."

"You serious?" Rose asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"'Course," The Doctor shrugged, "You've gotten the hang of enterin' and exitin' the Vortex – more or less." He paused a moment, glancing up thoughtfully, and Rose knew exactly what he was thinking about. She'd been running a bit too hot when she'd left the Vortex on their way to London and nearly landed them 3,000 miles below the surface of the planet. While the TARDIS could, theoretically, withstand the landing, shifting her back out of the earth's molten outer core against the massive heat and pressure, never mind the magnetic field, would have proven difficult. Luckily, she'd stopped the materialization process and pulled the TARDIS back into the Vortex before making her second, more controlled approach. Jack had gone white as a sheet.

"Anyway," he continued, cheerfully, "More to learn, and no time like the present."

"Right, but, where should I go?" Rose asked, scanning the hectic arrangement of buttons and levers and switches, "I only know a handful of planetary coordinates, and we've been to all of them."

"I think the better question is, _when_ do we go?" The Doctor's smile grew more genuine, less manic, and he crossed his arms as he approached her.

"You mean, travel in time?" It sounded like an inane question the second she spoke; she well knew the TARDIS was a time machine, after all, but Rose's lessons had largely been focused on navigating through the three relatively simple dimensions of space. What The Doctor was suggesting sounded like trying to fly a 747 when all you've ever driven is a moped.

"It's not so different," The Doctor reassured, and when Rose choked out a disbelieving laugh, he sobered, "Really, though. You know how to get to Earth. You've landed in your own wardrobe. D'you know how difficult that is? Hitting a target that size on a planet spinnin' a thousand miles an hour, traveling in an orbit at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour? That's not even factorin' in the speed of your solar system orbiting the center of the Milky Way. Rose, travelin' in space is the hard part, even when you know the coordinates. Time – time's relatively stable. Even when the events change, the course of time holds. It's the point of reference, the constant, that the TARDIS uses to calculate her position in space."

It seemed that no matter where she was, or when, The Doctor never failed to surprise her. The matter-of-fact way in which he spoke of his magnificent ship's time travel capability left her feeling alternately reassured and utterly dumbfounded. Could it really be so simple? While the notion of time travel, in the abstract, didn't bother her, knowing how very simple a matter it was for The Doctor and his TARDIS put the differences between them in stark relief. She remembered, then, how her first Doctor had returned for her and, almost as an afterthought, blithely informed her that the blue police box also traveled in time. His absentmindedness on a matter that, for her, was so thrilling and so crucial, now made perfect sense.

"I guess that settles it, then," she said with a brief, curious laugh.

"Settles what?" he asked, his brow knitting in confusion.

"The debate. 'Bout whether she's a space ship that can travel in time or a time machine that can travel through space," Rose explained, "She can shift in time without knowin' where she's goin' in space, but she can't move reliably through space without knowin' what time she's in. So, I was right." When the barest hint of her tongue peeked through her triumphant smile, The Doctor narrowed his eyes.

"The TARDIS is extradimensional, Rose," he explained, crossing his arms and lifting his chin incrementally, "'S why she's bigger on the inside. Technically, that makes her a transdimensional transport." As he spoke, the memory of another Time Lord, another Doctor, standing in his control room surfaced. He'd been just an image, a pretty boy with a stupid haircut, but he was a reminder of possibilities The Doctor didn't care to entertain just at the moment.

"You have to argue about everything, don't you?"

"It's the truth!" he insisted.

"Don't care," Rose shrugged, turning away from him and flipping a number of switches, preparing the TARDIS to exit the Vortex, "She's a time ship, and she's magnificent. Now, how do I put her in reverse?"

* * *

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Jack asked as he strode into the control room, rubbing his left elbow. The ship had bucked wildly to the right as he'd been walking through the corridor, throwing him into wall. After swearing and sliding to the floor to ride out a series of stomach-twisting drops and sickening lurches, he'd heard the Time Rotor wind down and hesitantly got to his feet to continue on his way. Now, as he stepped onto the ramp leading to the console deck, he saw Rose spraying the base of the console with a fire extinguisher while The Doctor disappeared under the grating, coughing and rattling off a string of alien words The TARDIS refused to translate.

"Sorry," Rose said, ignoring Jack and squeezing off another cloud of flame retardant, "I'm so sorry." The Doctor's irritated diatribe abated.

"'S all right," he reassured from below, "No harm done. Well, not much, anyway." The smoke was beginning to clear, though the acrid stench of burning wires was enough to curl his nose hair. Blessedly, his respiratory bypass engaged and he was able to assess the damage without coughing up a superior Time Lord lung. A dozen transfer fuses were blown, and half the Vortex energy converter assembly was melted onto the steering core. He swore fiercely under his breath and reached out a hand to remove one of the damaged fuses. When a sharp jab of electricity shot through his arm with a wave of simmering ire, he yanked his hand away and winged the back of his head on the grating.

"I didn't do it! What you gettin' shirty with me for?!" The Doctor protested, rubbing his scalp and wincing.

"Sorry," Rose's apology drifted down from above, and he sighed. He knew exactly why the ship wasn't taking it out on her. She didn't know any better; he did. The ship had always been a bit tricky, partially owing to the fact that, as an undesignated pilot, he'd never fully acquired the proper telepathic access to the ship. If he had, he'd know better when they landed somewhere he hadn't intended. Never mind the fact that the console had been designed for six pilots, not one. After the war, however, she'd been badly damaged, and he'd spent years learning her new aches and pains. Unfortunately, he'd spent so much time alone with the ship that many of his navigation techniques and compensating mechanisms were now automatic. He frequently forgot to inform Rose of those little quirks while he was instructing her.

"Not your fault," he said, reaching once again for a blown fuse, more gingerly this time, and pocketing it. He needed if for reference when he went to the spare part cupboard.

"It kind of is, though," Rose said as The Doctor lifted himself out of the access hatch. He paused for a moment, seated on grating with his legs hanging over the edge, and looked up at her. He offered her an understanding smile, but seeing Jack standing beside his sheepish companion, The Doctor scowled.

"Hey, she said it, not me," Jack insisted, raising his hands in a display of his lack of culpability.

"You were thinkin' it," The Doctor insisted, gathering his feet beneath him and pushing himself laboriously upright, "I've some repairs to make before we can leave."

"Where are we, anyway?" Jack asked, glancing at the monitor. While it regularly displayed information in English for Rose's benefit, the familiar letters blinked away as soon as he looked, replaced by the indecipherable system of rings and arches that composed The Doctor's native language.

"Alexandria, Egypt," The Doctor informed, looking at the screen, and smirking to himself. His ship may not have been thrilled with him, but it was comforting to know she was still on his side. The Big Reveal was one of his few real joys in life. Well, that and – he glanced at Rose on instinct before darting his gaze back to the monitor and continuing, "40 BCE. The reign of Cleopatra VII, last of the Ptolemaic pharaohs. Not bad for your first time." He beamed a proud smile at Rose, ignoring the sizzle and pop of one last fuse blowing.

"Cleopatra?" Rose asked, smiling back.

"One an' the same," The Doctor confirmed.

"_The_ Cleopatra?" Jack clarified, looking far too interested all of a sudden.

"Oi, don't get any – Where the hell's he goin'?" The Doctor began to scold Jack just as the reformed (The Doctor hoped) conman ran out of the console room.

"To find flowers and chocolate, probably," Rose chuckled. The Doctor gave her a horrified look. "Oh, come on, you were thinking the same thing."

* * *

"What on earth are you wearing?" Rose asked in a mixture of humor and disbelief as Jack returned to the console room. The Doctor popped his head up from under the grating where he'd just finished replacing the blown fuses. As soon as he caught sight of his newest companion, he rolled his eyes and gave a brief shake of his head before disappearing below once more.

"A toga!" Jack announced, proudly. The garment in question was a lightweight wool dyed maroon that fastened at his left shoulder, leaving the right bare, gathered at the waist by a thin rope belt, and fell to just above his knees. The bottom hem was embellished with a simple geometric pattern embroidered in silvery white thread.

"Chiton," the Doctor corrected, still under the grating.

"Sorry?" Jack and Rose spoke simultaneously.

"The thing you're wearin'," he said, resurfacing and climbing up out of the maintenance access, "It's called a chiton."

"Look who's the fashion expert all the sudden," Rose heckled, crossing her arms.

"You two aren't going to change?" Jack interjected.

"No," Rose stated definitively.

"Not bloody likely," the Doctor insisted simultaneously.

"Suit yourselves," Jack shrugged, throwing them a brilliant smile before walking confidently toward the door. Rose and The Doctor stood side-by-side, watching him swagger out the door into the brilliant sunlight beyond. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

"Can he be trusted?" The Doctor finally asked, half mocking and half serious.

"Not even a little," Rose laughed, following the irrepressible rogue down the ramp and out the open door.

* * *

**Footnote:** I've been watching a lot of Rescue Me, lately, and I suddenly have this bee in my bonnet to write a Doctor Who AU/Rescue Me crossover. Because the notion of Nine in turnout gear sets my heart aflutter.


End file.
